1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and method, and a program, and particularly relates to an image processing apparatus and method, and a program, whereby an album, where images appropriately clipped such as a human face are appropriately disposed, can be created.
2. Description of the Related Art
Digital cameras and so forth have come into widespread use, and images photographed by a digital camera can be casually observed with a personal computer or the like.
Cameras such as so-called film cameras were commonly employed before digital cameras came into widespread use. The images (photographs) photographed with a film camera have been commonly observed in a state of being printed on predetermined paper. Those photographs have been sometimes managed in a format called an album or the like in a state of being adhered to a mount.
An album employed when observing images photographed with such a film camera has been being proposed for observing images photographed with a digital camera as well. An album whereby images photographed with a digital camera are observed sometimes referred to as an electronic album or the like.
An electronic album can be observed with the display of a personal computer, a television receiver, or the like. Also, an electronic album is commonly made up of multiple pages, and includes an indication form such that the following page will be displayed if a page is turned over, so as to handle the electronic album with the same feeling as that in an album made up of a paper medium. A user can enjoy an electronic album with the same feeling as that in an album made up of a paper medium.
An album made up of a paper medium is created by the user pasting photographs on a mount by himself/herself. In the event of an electronic album, images are pasted on a screen which images a page displayed on a display by the user performing a predetermined operation, whereby an album can be created, but also a proposal has been made wherein images are disposed within a page without necessitating involvement of the user in creating of an album. Further, a proposal has been made wherein some sort of processing is performed to paste appropriate images on a page when creating an album or the like. Such known arrangements are disclosed in, e.g., Japanese Patent No. 3,390,391 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-269563.